Bloc Party: Prisoner Updates

We are happy to announce anarchist prisoner Casey Brezik’s brand new support site and post-release fund. As he mentions in his updates below, Casey is trying to raise an additional $1,000 over the next two years from his anarchist comrades so that he can buy a used car when he gets out of prison, hopefully sometime at the end of 2020. This seems like a goal that can certainly be met and almost certainly exceeded.

In case you aren’t familiar with Casey, and you’d like to understand better Casey’s motivations and the mental and emotional conditions that led to his action, you can check out his article “The Short Story of How I Got Here” published by the Kansas City Anarchist Black Cross. As in all of his writings, Casey reflects on his action with a rare degree of humility and honesty that we appreciated quite a bit.

Over the course of Casey’s time in prison, he has not gotten the degree of support that our comrades deserve from one another. We’re not going to get into brainstorming all the troubling reasons why that might be the case, instead we want to continue to encourage folks to get involved with him. He’s a kind and humble person who is very open to and capable of friendship and his requests of us are always very modest. And for all you anarcho-scientists hiding out there, ashamed to admit that a post-revolutionary society that doesn’t involve space exploration would make you just a little sad, Casey is the pen-pal for you!

Supporting our comrades can be complex at times, and just as they are when they’re with us on the outside, our friends inside are not one-dimensional characters. But, when the state holds them captive it is imperative that we let them know in the most tangible ways possible that they are not forgotten and they are never alone. Prison is meant to break ones spirit. It is designed to break you in the most heinous ways physically, emotionally and spiritually. We don’t always have the greatest tools to combat that kind of violence, but the ones we do hold we can never stop utilizing. Like our dear friends from the June 11th crew reminded us this past Summer, communication is a weapon. It is one of our strongest weapons. Let’s use it together. For Casey, for all our other comrades, and for the comrades we have yet to get to know.

June 11th demo, Pittsburgh

From Casey:

Hello! How are you doing?! It’s been a long time since I’ve posted anything. Partially I feel bad for that but partially I consider you could probably care less. Lol. I’ve been doing alright. I’ve seen some bad times but some good times too. Most importantly, I got married March 14th, 2017. That’s been a blessing. I’ve been fairly depressed otherwise though. I’ve had a few issues in here but a big cause has been my hopeless outlook for my Anarchists in Spaceaspirations. Finding funds seems impossible. But recently, I’ve come across something.

I’m not recalling exactly what all was said in my last post, but I know my plans for college have changed. My family wasn’t able to pay for any correspondence courses, although I was able to get ahold of a calculus textbook and have had support with studies from another comrade. So, I am still making progress. For a while that was slow though because of a bad situation I was in for 6 months due to have a terrible celly. Anyway, my intentions, as of now, are to get out and attend St. Charles Community College. They do a lot of work with the prison here. I figure they’ll allow me to attend. I’ll go there to take care of my basics before transferring to Missouri University of Science and Technology to pursue a doctorate’s in aerospace engineering. If I’m going to build a rocket, it only makes sense that I study rocket science.

That brings me to the idea I have to generate funding for the project. I still figure building a fueling station for a new generation of fusion-powered rockets is a good idea. But, it’d be better if we could build a fusion-powered rocket to get there. Really a two option rocket. Something we could use conventional means to get there with. Then, carry a small payload that could convert the lunar soil (regolith) into fuel to power an even further expedition. If we can start mining our solar system we’re bound to attract wealthier investors to fund our expeditions.

I realize this poses a problem because we’d be adopting capitalist tactics by taking on investors, but with a good business plan I think the effects could be kept to a minimum. There’s still plenty of time to work out the details, though. I’m not eligible for parole until November 2020 and it’ll take another 8 years to complete my Ph.D. That’s long enough to work out the details. Right now, it’s just important that we have something to work towards.

That brings me to something else though. I need some help. I’ve been saving back money that people have been sending me. I have $1,300 now. However, I don’t think that’ll be enough for when I’m released. The few sources I was relying on for funding have ceased due to complications. My goal is to have about $3,500 once I’m released. The plan is to buy a cheap vehicle to help me get to work and school in St. Louis. Plus, I’d use some money for rent. Hopefully, I can find someone to room with. We’ll see. It’s still too far off to figure that out yet. Currently, I’m receiving $50 a month from family. Of that I’m saving $30/month. That should put me close to $2,500 by the time I get out. My hope is that I can solicit about $1,000 from my comrades in order to get the rest. If you can help, I’d be greatly appreciative.

If you’re interested in sending funds there are three ways you can do it:

You can also go to AccessCorrections.com and use my inmate information (Casey M. Brezik/ #1154765/ Missouri Dept. of Corr.) to send money online or find instructions to do so by phone, or…

You can write me a letter stating that you’d like to send funds and I can send you a deposit slip that you can send in with a money order.

If you create an account at AccessCorrections.com, you can send me free emails. Just beware I can’t email you back. I’d have to write you. So don’t forget to include your address.

In other news, there won’t be a book coming out any time soon. I may have an idea for what to write but the actual process is difficult and beyond me right now. Mad respect to all the authors out there.

I hope everyone is doing alright. Thanks for taking the time to listen.

Solid,

Casey

Comrades, I have to apologize for my last post. Giving a half-assed sales pitch for a crackpot idea and then asking for your money is no way to send out my first post in over a year. My apologies for that. It’s just difficult for me to see how I could have anything worthwhile to contribute. However, I’ve been talking with some comrades and they’ve helped me gain some self-confidence. I want to talk to you about the antifa.

Lately, since Charlottesville, I’ve been seeing a lot mentioned about it on the mainstream media. I think it’s good that you are getting the recognition you deserve even if it’s somewhat controversial. I know you’ve been around for a long time and have really been stepping up your efforts since Donald Trump started his ascension to power. I have mad respect and gratitude. Especially because I’m a minority. However, I want to run something by you.

I know they deserve to be punched in the face as much so or more than the next man, but I think we as anarchists have bigger things to concern ourselves with. I’m not saying that our presence shouldn’t be made known at their little rallies. I’m just saying we should think twice before risking jail time over them. Jail and prison isn’t worth these scumbags. Because, guess what? Jail and prisons are filled with them. A white guy without a Swazi or lightning bolts tattoo is really the exception and not the rule. White supremacy runs rampant like the black plague in the prison systems. And guess what? There are no anarchists! Not to say anarchists aren’t imprisoned but that anarchists don’t have numbers in prison. Wherever you end up, the chances are you’re going to be alone. The fascists will always out number us. Even if they don’t know what fascism is as many don’t. Hell, I’m not an expert either though. Most inmates aren’t politically savvy. It’s not unusual for me to see guys walking around with both Swazi and anarchists tattoos. Yet, somehow I’m the confused one with a “circle A” on my right hand and a “hammer and sickle” on my left.

I think the main difference between our camp and theirs (besides our ideology) is our funding. Fascists can make their money selling drugs and guns because for the most part they’re looking at a slap on the wrist. As to where in most cases we’re declared enemies of the state and face much harsher punishments. Even if we were on a level playing field in regards to the amount of time we were looking at, they’re still better funded than we are. Being that they can also come from all professions. As to where most (not all!) anarchists are stuck working odd end jobs just to pay the bills.

My point in all this is that possibly we should have more of a focus on strengthening our own ranks rather than spreading them thin by straining them with unnecessary prisoner support. Maybe I’m a hypocrite for saying that, but I recognize that I’ve become an unnecessary burden. It urks me to no end that I don’t feel like I can contribute in a meaningful way. In all the thinking I’ve done, the best idea I have to “give back” is to “make something of myself,” so I can feed funds back into the scene. Money more than anything is what I think we need right now.

In short, I think we need to be encouraging each other and helping each other to realize our fullest potential and not settle for less. Be that a doctor, a scientist, artist, or whatever we aspire to. I think a lot of people get caught up or deterred in associating these aspirations as a product of the capitalist system. No doubt they’re intertwined. But we live in a capitalist society. There’s nothing we can do about that. However, how you make your money and how you spend it are two different things. Thanks for listening.

Solid, Casey Brezik

In other news from the bloc…

Kevin “Rashid” Johnson’s website reports that there is a new issue of Main Line out now. Check it out here.

“In 2008, some folks who were affiliated with the Earth Liberation Front got raided by the fascists, and copies of ‘Last Act’ were found in their possession. Another reader of ‘Last Act’ started writing to me and applied to be on my visiting list before he got picked up as one of the founding members of the hacktivist group Anonymous. I’ve heard that one of the twelve original members of the Ad-Busters group that started Occupy was radicalized in high school when reading a dog-eared copy of ‘Last Act of the Circus Animals.’ And I’ve also heard that a member of the NATO 5 conspiracy still reads ‘Last Act’ to his infant child each night before bed.

Hopefully, that’s a good indication that there will be another generation of ski-mask-clad machete-wielding molotov-throwing savage-cannibal maniacs kicking a dent in the system… if we can’t topple it sooner.”

We’ll be back after the weekend with a full roundup of prison/er updates. For now we hope you’ll send a little loving solidarity to Casey and Sean:

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